stories about other people can sometimes make you feel so much better about yourself…. wouldn’t you agree? You hear about dumb things that other people do and you can’t help but think “Wow…. that was bad… I feel a little smarter knowing that they did something so silly.” Is that just me? Maybe I’m the only horrible person in the world that feels that way every now and then! Well, luckily for you, I’m going to make you feel brilliant today. Seriously, after you hear what I did, you’ll feel like a genuis because more than likely (especially if you’re a photographer),
you’ll never end up in this situation. It was 90+ degrees with 80% humidity on Friday when I was shooting Preston and Katie’s wedding. It was beautiful though! The plantation was stunning and I had scouted some locations before the day began so that I knew where portraits would take place. So when portrait time rolled around, everything had been going GREAT. I loved what I had been capturing and I was ready to rock and roll!! We got Katie over the fence (yes, she jumped a fence in her dress!) and we were about to begin when my camera hit my arm and SOMETHING switched on. The shutter opened and I could tell it had switched to VIDEO MODE. Now, remember this is a brand new camera… and it’s fancy. On the Mark II I would know exactly what to do when this happened but the Mark III is slightly different. So I told the couple to relax for a sec while I “switched lenses”….. what I was really doing was FREAKING OUT because I couldn’t get the stupid thing to turn off!! I hit everything!! I turned it off, I turned it on, I took the battery out, I punched every little button I could find and nothing, NOTHING would get this sucker off video mode! And in case you haven’t noticed, I’m no Josh Gooden, video mode means NOTHING to me!!!!!
So I swapped out my lens and starting shooting on my Mark II. Nothing is wrong with the Mark II, it’s an amazing camera…. but after you are used to the Mark III… you NEVER WANNA GO BACK!!!!!!! Luckily, my couple was so beautiful and sweet that I forgot about how frustrated I was as soon as we got into their portraits. We shot up and down the field, the driveway, etc and then it was time for the reception. I was setting up for the introductions and I was just SO mad at myself that I couldn’t figure out what the heck I had accidently pressed on my MARK III that I googled it on my iphone! Really?! This shouldn’t be THIS HARD!!!! I picked up my camera and tried desperately to reset whatever I had screwed up! Nothing. I reset all camera functions, I turned it off and on a million times… nothing changed. At this point… I was beyond frustrated. I felt like an idiot!!!…. As I should. This is just STUPID! As I saw the bride and groom approaching I set the Mark III in the bag and grabbed my Mark II again… but as I glanced down I noticed this TINY BABY BUTTON to the right of the view finder. Low and behold…… it was a simple SWITCH… and guess what it does… it turns the camera from Video Mode to Still shooting mode. With one little click, I was back in business!!! After the initial “I fixed it!!” excitement died down, I IMMEDIATELY realized how amazingly EMBABRRASSING this was!!!! One BABY BUTTON… why didn’t I just SEE THAT?! I was RIGHT in front of me!!! ohhhh man. What a day. I learned three things throughout this embarrassing episode:
1. Having a backup ready to roll with batteries and a card is always a smart idea.
2. I’m good at hiding my embarrassing situations… I can FREAK OUT with a smile on my face and no one will ever know!
3. The BABY BUTTONS are KILLER!!!!!! One accidental switch of the smallest button on the back of my camera turned into a mini-nightmare! So KNOW your baby-buttons…. even if you NEVER intend to shoot video!
So on this beautiful memorial day, enjoy your families, your friends, remember the incredible men and women that have sacrificed their lives for our freedom and also walk a little taller knowing that you’ll NEVER do something as dumb as what Katelyn did this weekend. Have a good one!
Thanks for reading!
— Katelyn
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